JPH0769445A - Arm mechanism of substrate conveyor system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an arm mechanism of a substrate conveyor system, capable of tilting the angle of a substrate in an optional direction and of shortening a span of conveying time as specified. CONSTITUTION:In a substrate conveyor system, setting up a substrate 11 in an arm head part 22 at the tip side of an arm 21 and having an arm mechanism 13 supporting a spot somewhere short of this arm 21 with an arm supporting part 23 and also a mechanism shifting this arm mechanism 13 in the optional direction at the side of the arm supporting part 23, the arm head part 22 is provided with a disk 28 rotating as far as a constant angle.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an arm mechanism of a substrate transfer device which transfers a substrate while inclining it in an arbitrary direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various glass substrate carrying devices have been used as a loader for storing glass substrates in a cassette or an unloader for taking out glass substrates stored in a cassette. This type of glass substrate transporting device has a mechanism in which a glass substrate is arranged at the tip of an arm and the arm shaft is rotated or the entire arm is moved in an arbitrary direction.

[0003]

However, the conventional glass substrate transporting device is provided with a mechanism for rotating the arm shaft or moving the entire arm in an arbitrary direction, but the glass substrate is moved at an arbitrary angle on the arm. Therefore, the glass substrate cannot be tilted in any direction to be housed in the cassette, or the glass substrate cannot be taken out from the cassette at any angle. Therefore, in order to change the direction of the glass substrate in the conventional glass substrate transfer device, it is necessary to provide a rotation mechanism different from the arm mechanism, and the movement process by the arm mechanism and the rotation changing the angle of the glass substrate by the rotation mechanism. Since the process is separate, the glass substrate takes a long time to convey as a whole, and the mechanism is complicated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an arm mechanism of a substrate transfer device which can incline the angle of a substrate in an arbitrary direction and shorten the transfer time.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an arm mechanism of a substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention has a substrate arranged on an arm head portion on a tip side of an arm, and a front side of the arm is an arm support portion. In the substrate transfer apparatus having a supporting arm mechanism and a mechanism for moving the arm mechanism in an arbitrary direction on the side of the arm supporting portion, the arm head portion has a disk that rotates by a predetermined angle.

Further, in the arm mechanism, the rotation of the arm shaft provided on the arm supporting portion side is transmitted to the disk by the pulley and the belt.

[0007]

According to the present invention, since the arm head portion of the arm mechanism in the substrate transfer device has a disk that rotates by a predetermined angle, the angle of the substrate placed on the disk surface can be tilted in any direction, and the arm can be tilted. By rotating the disk while the mechanism is moving, the time required for transporting the glass substrate can be shortened as a whole.

Further, by transmitting the rotation of the arm shaft provided on the arm supporting portion side to the disk by the pulley and the belt, the inclination of the glass substrate can be realized by a simple mechanism.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. 1 is a plan view of an arm mechanism portion of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an arm mechanism portion of an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the glass substrate carrying device of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a side view of the glass substrate carrying device of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the glass substrate transporting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In these figures, the glass substrate carrier 10 stores the glass substrate 11 in a cassette 12,
Alternatively, it is a device for taking out the glass substrate 11 stored in the cassette 12, and is an arm mechanism 13 arranged to move the glass substrate 11, an ascending / descending mechanism 14 for moving the arm mechanism 13 up and down, and an advance for moving the arm mechanism 13 forward and backward. It is provided with a retreat mechanism 15, a transport mechanism 16 for transporting the glass substrate 11, a pedestal 17 for arranging each part, and the like.

The arm mechanism 13 includes a thin plate-shaped arm 21.
And the glass substrate 11 provided on the tip side of the arm 21.
And an arm support portion 23 that supports the arm 21 at a lower portion on the front side thereof, and the like.
The arm 21 is formed in a thin and long rectangular plate shape, a shallow groove 21a is formed on the upper surface from the front side to the front end side, and a pulley is provided at the end of the arm shaft 24 protruding from the upper part of the arm support portion 23 into the groove 21a. 25 is attached. The arm head portion 22 has a groove 21a on the upper surface on the tip side of the arm 21.
A pulley 27 is rotatably attached to a bearing 26 provided therein, and a thin disk-shaped disc 28 is attached to the pulley 27. And pulley 2
A belt 29 made of wire or the like is stretched between 5 and 27. That is, the rotation of the arm shaft 24 is
It is adapted to be transmitted to the disk 28 via the pulley 25, the belt 29 and the pulley 27. Arm support 2
3 has a support case for fixing the arm 21 to the upper part,
The case is provided with an arm shaft 24 rotated by a motor at a predetermined angle, an angle detector (not shown) for detecting the rotation angle, and the like. The rotation angle of the arm shaft 24 is detected by an angle detector, and the disk 28 is, for example, 0.
Rotate to an arbitrary set angle from 90 degrees to 90 degrees. On the surface of the disk 28, a small hole 30 for adsorbing the glass substrate 11 arranged thereon is formed.
Four thin flexible pipes 31 are formed on the peripheral side so as to communicate with these holes 30, and are piped through the groove 21a.
It is connected to a suction pump (not shown) provided on the arm support portion 23 side. Further, a detector 32 for detecting the presence or absence of the glass substrate 11 is provided on the surface portion of the arm 21 near the disk 28. Further, the upper surface of the groove 21a except the disk 28 portion is covered with a thin plate 33.

The ascending / descending mechanism 14 is a mechanism for ascending or descending the arm mechanism 13. The ascending / descending portion 42 formed by a ball screw provided on a plate 41 whose surface is arranged along the vertical direction has an arm supporting portion 23. Is attached. The ascending / descending unit 42 is driven by a motor or the like, and ascends or descends an arbitrarily set distance, or stops at a signal from a sensor or the like.

The forward / backward moving mechanism 15 is a mechanism for moving the arm mechanism 13 forward or backward, and a forward / downward moving portion 52 formed by a ball screw arranged in the front-rear direction is fixed to a support block 51 fixed to the mount 17. Forward descending section 52
A plate 41 is attached to the plate so that it can move forward and backward.
The advancing / lowering unit 52 is driven by a motor or the like, and moves forward or backward by an arbitrary set distance, or stops by a signal from a sensor or the like.

The transport mechanism 16 is a mechanism for transporting the glass substrate 11 loaded from the front side to the upper portion of the arm head portion 22 of the arm mechanism 13 and unloading the glass substrate 11 on the arm head portion 22 from the front side. Yes, a plurality of short rollers 63 can be rotated in the horizontal direction so that the rotation axes of the plates 61 disposed on the upper surface of the pedestal 17 are opposite to the support plates 62 provided on the left and right sides of the side surface of the arm 21. It is arranged. At the entrance side of the transport mechanism 16,
Long rollers 64 are arranged so that both ends are rotatably supported by the left and right support plates 62. A pulley 65 is provided on each of the rollers 63 and 64, and a belt 66 is stretched between the adjacent pulleys 65. Further, a pulley 67 is provided on one shaft end of the long roller 64, and the pulley 6 attached to the output shaft of a motor 68 fixed to this pulley and the pedestal 17 is provided.
A belt 71 is stretched between the belt 9 and a tension pulley 70 provided on the way. The plate 61 on the upper surface of the pedestal 17 has an opening 6 so that the arm support 23 can move.
1a is formed.

The pedestal 17 is formed of a frame structure in which the above-mentioned respective parts are arranged, and the supporting legs 8 are provided at the lower four corners so as to be adjustable in the vertical direction with respect to the floor with screws.
1 and casters 8 used when moving to the vicinity
Two are provided.

An adjusting mechanism for the glass substrate 11 (not shown) is arranged on the left and right sides of the front side (entrance side) of the transport mechanism 16, and glass on the left and right plates 61 on the arm head 22 side, respectively. A unit 91 for positioning the substrate 11 is provided.

When the glass substrate 11 is stored in the cassette 12 in the glass substrate transporting apparatus 10 having the above-described structure, the glass substrate 11 loaded into the transport mechanism 16 from the front side is driven by the motor 68 to the pulley 69, the belt 71, and the belt 69.
It is conveyed by rollers 63, 64 driven via a pulley 67, a belt 66, and a pulley 65, positioned by a unit 91, and stopped above the arm head portion 22 of the arm mechanism 13. Next, the ascending / descending mechanism 14 starts ascending, the glass substrate 11 is placed on the disk 28 of the arm head portion 22, and subsequently, the suction pump operates to operate the pipe 3
Air is sucked through the holes 30 through the glass substrate 11
Are adsorbed on the surface of the disk 28. Next, the ascending / descending mechanism 14 and the advancing / retreating mechanism 15 start the ascending movement, the arm mechanism 13 approaches the cassette 12, and the arm shaft 24 is driven during the ascending or advancing, if necessary, and the pulley 25, The disk 28 rotates via the belt 29 and the pulley 27, and the glass substrate 11 is tilted by a certain angle. Next, after the arm mechanism 13 enters the predetermined storage rack position of the cassette 12 and stops, the suction by the suction pump is stopped to release the suction of the glass substrate 11 to the disk 28, and then the arm mechanism 13 slightly moves. The glass substrate 11 is lowered and placed on the storage shelf. Then the arm mechanism 13
Returns to the original position for storing the next glass substrate 11, and the glass substrate 1 is placed in the cassette 12 again by the same operation.
1 is stored. By continuing the above operation, the glass substrate 11 can be housed in the cassette 12 with a certain angle in the horizontal direction with respect to the glass substrate 11 to be carried in.

Next, when the glass substrate 11 stored in the cassette 12 is taken out, the arm mechanism 13 enters the predetermined position of the cassette 12 by the ascending / descending mechanism 14 and the forward / backward moving mechanism 15 and ascends to raise the glass substrate 11. The arm head portion 22 is arranged on the disk 28, and then a suction pump is operated to suck air through the hole 30 through the pipe 31 to suck the glass substrate 11 onto the surface of the disk 28. Next, the arm mechanism 13 performs an operation of returning to the original position by the ascending / descending mechanism 14 and the advancing / retreating mechanism 15, and the disk 28 rotates by a certain angle, and the glass substrate 11 is inclined by a certain angle. Next, the arm mechanism 13 releases the adsorption of the glass substrate 11 on the surface of the disk 28 at the upper part of the original position, and descends to the original position to transfer the glass substrate 11 to the transport mechanism 1.
After being placed on the roller 63 of No. 6, stop. Next, the glass substrate 11 is transported to the front side by the rollers 63 and 64 when the transport mechanism 16 is driven. By repeating the above operation, the glass substrate 11 stored in the cassette 12
Can be carried out by the transport mechanism 16 with a certain angle in the horizontal direction.

According to the above construction, the glass substrate 11 loaded in the horizontal direction can be housed in the cassette 12 with a predetermined fixed inclination, and the glass substrate 11 housed in the cassette 12 can be housed. Can be carried out with a certain angle of inclination. Therefore, for example, the cassette 12
By tilting and storing the glass substrate 11, the cassette 12 is put into the cleaning tank as it is for cleaning, or the glass substrate 11 tilted and stored for cleaning is unloaded and returned. You can Further, since the glass substrate 11 is arranged on the surface of the disk 28 of the arm head portion 22 and rotates by a predetermined angle while being conveyed by the ascending / descending mechanism 14 and the advancing / retreating mechanism 15, the conveying time can be shortened as a whole. .

In the above embodiment, the arm mechanism 13 can be moved in the vertical direction and the forward / backward direction by the ascending / descending mechanism 14 and the forward / backward moving mechanism 15, but the arm mechanism 13 is moved in the vertical / forward direction. A mechanism for moving in either the backward direction or the rotation direction around the arm axis may be provided, and at least the arm head portion 22 at the tip of the arm mechanism 13 is provided with the disk 28 that rotates by a predetermined angle, and the glass substrate 11 is It suffices if it can be tilted at a predetermined angle.

Further, the disk 28 of the arm head portion 22
In the above, an example in which an arbitrary set angle from 0 degree to 90 degrees is rotated has been described. However, if necessary, it may be possible to rotate an arbitrary angle smaller than 90 degrees or a large angle, and the size of the disk 28. The sheath shape and the like can be arbitrarily determined depending on the size of the glass substrate 11.

Further, in the above embodiment, the glass substrate 11
However, any substrate such as a semiconductor substrate may be transported, and the substrate may have a disc shape or the like other than the rectangular shape.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the arm head portion of the arm mechanism of the substrate transfer device has the disc that rotates by a certain angle, the angle of the substrate placed on the disc surface can be inclined in any direction. By rotating the disk while the arm mechanism is moving,
There is an effect that the glass substrate can be transported as a whole in a short time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an arm mechanism portion of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an arm mechanism portion of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a glass substrate carrying device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the glass substrate carrying device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the glass substrate carrying device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 glass substrate 12 cassette 13 arm mechanism 14 ascending / descending mechanism 15 forward / backward mechanism 16 transport mechanism 17 frame 21 arm 22 arm head part 23 arm support part 24 arm shaft 25, 27 pulley 26 bearing 28 disc 29 belt 30 hole 31 pipe 32 detection Bowl 33 plate

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An arm mechanism for arranging a substrate on an arm head portion on a tip side of an arm and supporting a front side of the arm by an arm supporting portion, and moving the arm mechanism in an arbitrary direction on the arm supporting portion side. In the substrate transfer apparatus having the mechanism described above, the arm head unit has a disk that rotates at a fixed angle. 2. The arm mechanism of a substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the arm mechanism transmits rotation of an arm shaft provided on an arm support portion side to a disk by a pulley and a belt.